CLONING AND EXPRESSION OF THE ADENOSINE KINASE GENE FROM RAT AND HUMAN TISSUES

Adenosine kinase is ubiquitous in eukaryotes and is a key enzyme in th e regulation of the intracellular levels of adenosine, an important ph ysiological effector of many cells and tissues, In this paper we repor t the cloning of cDNAs encoding adenosine kinase from both rat and hum an tissues, Two distinct forms of adenosine kinase mRNA were identifie d in human tissues, Sequence variation between the two forms is restri cted to the extreme 5'-end of the adenosine kinase mRNA, including a p ortion of the coding region, and is consistent with differential splic ing of a single transcriptional product, We have expressed both forms in E. coil and produced soluble active enzyme which catalyzes the phos phorylation of adenosine with high specific activity in vitro and is s usceptible to known adenosine kinase inhibitors. (C) 1997 Academic Pre ss.